Ash of Gallifrey
by Stardog228
Summary: The Doctor counted the number of children on Gallifrey on the last day of the time war, but what if one of those 2.47 billion time children escaped at the last minute and has been growing up on a planet somewhere in the universe. Meet Ash of Gallifrey the last Time Lady.
1. Chapter 1: Last Day on Gallifrey

Chapter 1: Last Day on Gallifrey

"EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!" The daleks screeched all around Ash's hiding spot. All she had to do was make it past these daleks and deliver the message to the citizens' camp from the medic camp on the Southside of Arcadia. Today was her eighth birthday and if it wasn't for the Time War going on she would have been off to the Time Lord Academy right now but instead she was hiding inside an open ended pipe as her city burned down around her. The Time Lords were starting to get desperate. They were out of weapons and, ironically enough, out of time. The Time War was tearing apart the universe itself and if it didn't end soon everyone would be doomed. The golden sides of a dalek rolled up beside the end of her pipe. It sent off several shots of its extermination ray and Ash winced as she heard the screams of the Gallifreyan soldiers who were shot. The dalek rolled on by and Ash breathed a sigh of relief that at least it didn't spot her and inched towards the end of the pipe. After checking that the coast was clear she bolted out and down the tiny alleyways back towards camp. The citizens' camp and others like it all over Gallifrey were established to hold those who had lost their homes to the war, which thanks to daleks was mostly everyone. Her parents and she moved to the camp a year and a half ago following the bombing of their home. Her father enrolled in the Gallifreyan army soon after that and was killed his first day on duty.

Ash turned a corner and jumped behind a downed battle TARDIS. She peeked out around the side of the TARDIS and saw the camp was only a couple blocks down and six daleks down. Ash rummaged through her pockets and pulled out a small ball she'd found on the run to the medic camp. She threw the ball at the garbage containers on the other side of the street and knocked several down which luckily attracted the attention of all the daleks. Ash ran past them as they went to investigate the noise and ducked down beneath a drape that hid the door to the citizens' camp. The camp consisted of several large tents and a couple somewhat salvageable buildings that held a small kitchen, a front check in, 250 bunk beds 100 cots and 768 occupants not including the unnumbered soldiers who were quartered there regularly.

"Pyretta, Where in the world have you been, young time lady?!" Hedina, Ash's mother, asked as she came up and squeezed Ash in a big mom hug.

"Muuum, stop! I'm fine; I just got stuck hiding in a pipe from the daleks on my way back." Ash twisted out of the hug and began unloading the message cubes from her bag onto the check in counter. "Besides I told you that I want to be called Ash now not Pyretta."

"Fine, since it's your birthday I'll call you Ash, but this is only for today my little Pyretta." Hedina put her hand on Ash's back and began pushing her back to their cots. "Come on now, I've got a surprise for you back at the cots and you need to change out of those dingy clothes." Ash looked down at her dress and shrugged. Her dress always got dirty when she was delivering messages. The long, red dresses that were in style on Gallifrey were meant for slow cultured walks in pristine museums and libraries not jumping over dalek shells and scampering through debris-filled alleyways.

Once they got to the cots Ash noticed a package with a shiny red ribbon sitting neatly in the center of her cot.

"Mum, you didn't!"

"I did, Happy Birthday, Py- I mean Ash." Ash turned around and hugged her mom and then sat cross legged on her bed and ripped into the packaging. Inside was a beautiful new dress, a golden fob watch, and a small key.

"What's this?" Ash asked holding up the key.

Hedina looked around, leaned down towards Ash and whispered, "It's the key to the… you know. I fear that the time to use it is nigh." Ash shook off a cold chill that raced down her back and hugged her mother in thanks again. Afterwards they got supper from the kitchen and went to bed falling asleep to the always constant screams and booms from the outside war.

That night ash dreamed of her father. She saw him and her back aboard the stolen TARDIS with him teaching her how to fly it just in case she should ever need to. He'd stolen the type 63 TARDIS from a museum when she was about three and a half years old and hid it in a closet in their old house. Her mother had the psychic ability and foretold a large explosion that would take place where Gallifrey was currently at. Since her mother's old job before the war was as a model and a singer nobody paid any mind to her warning and pushed her off as an airhead. So until the day that their house got destroyed they practiced an escape plan and Ash's dad taught her how to fly the TARDIS.

BOOM! The sound jolted Ash out of her sleep. That was close, too close. Then she smelled the smoke and seen the orange wisps of flame that were swallowing the opposite corner of the sleeping corners. Children and adults screamed out in pain as their skin was burned. BOOM! BOOM! The radios on the soldiers nearby were all blaring similar announcements. The Daleks were increasing their fire and Gallifrey was going to fall. Before she knew what was happening Ash felt herself being ripped out of her cot and carried.

"Stop! Let me go!" Ash screamed.

Hedina cupped her hand around her daughter's mouth and shushed her. "Quiet, Pyretta, quiet. We're going to the TARDIS." Hedina ducked below a flap at the back of one of the tents and set Ash down on the ground. "Now run back home and get inside the TARDIS. I'm going to help whoever I can get there too so that we can escape. Your dad preset the TARDIS before we left last year. If I'm not back in fifteen minutes it will take off, you know what to do… Gallifrey disappears today."

Her mother had never talked like that before. Now Ash was truly scared witless. She turned and ran straight home, not stopping until she reached the debris that blocked the silver, tube-shaped TARDIS' entrance. She pushed aside the debris and crawled inside. She sat behind the door and waited and waited and waited. Suddenly, the TARDIS' engines started.

"NO" screamed Ash "Stop, you can't go mum's not back!" Ash turned around and began hitting buttons hoping to stop the TARDIS from taking off. Instead the doors closed and the TARDIS began dematerializing. Gallifrey was gone. Ash slid down and began crying beneath the control console.


	2. Chapter 2: Tutukanen

Chapter 2: Tutukanen

Ash sat in the doorway of the TARDIS and overlooked the section of space that used to hold Gallifrey. Now all that was left was tons of ash, destroyed daleks and dalek ship debris floating around this now empty space. Following the TARDIS dematerializing off of Gallifrey it rematerialized a few years later on the very outskirts of what would have been Gallifrey's gravitational field. Ash sighed and stood up. Despite hearing from her mother practically her whole life that Gallifrey would be gone someday it was still so hard to accept. A tear fell down her cheek and Ash wiped it away as she turned a knob and finally closed the door to the TARDIS. All of the sudden the TARDIS began to shake and dematerialize.

"What the Galla?!" Ash checked the monitor and all the controls checked out normal. The target location read: Finek Galaxy, Lumentos Solar System, Tutukanen Planet, Upper Atmosphere. Why in the universe was the TARDIS materializing here? Ash expanded the air shell and poked her head outside. She and the TARDIS were flying high above the planet. Tutukanen was one of the planets her class at the camp had recently studied. Tutukanen was a planet for those without a home to go to, an outcast planet if you will. It was a low level planet but due to its efforts to take in anyone in need they boosted a great level of diversity. Unfortunately this diversity also created the perfect breeding ground for cultural conflict. Wars and revolts were constantly being started. Ash smelled the air and looked over the ground below. It was approximately 2389 give or take eleven years. The Humans vs Granelak war should be going on about now.

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! The red lights were flashing. Ash checked the monitor and groaned and looked back out through the doorway. Meteors were blazing down through the atmosphere and getting closer and closer to the TARDIS. Ash closed the door and hit the switch on the control panel to put up the shields. The TARDIS began to shake as the meteors hit the shields.

_Shields Critical _The TARDIS warned. Ash grabbed the tool box from below the control console and rushed down the stairs to fix the shields. By the time her dad left to join the army they still hadn't got to maintenance or time travel accuracy or a bunch of other important stuff like that, but she figured that she could just learn as she went. Oh was she wrong though. Even with her time lord brain that was able to learn multiple languages by the age of one she was at a loss to what all these wires meant.

"Damn it" Ash mumbled under her breath as the TARDIS's beeping got louder and the shaking got worse. Crack! A large meteor broke through the TARDIS's shields and knocked it out of orbit; sending it crashing into the planet below.

_Danger! Losing Altitude! Danger! Danger!_ Ash curled around the railing, that she had been thrown against at the moment of the meteor's impact, for dear life.

Ash pushed open the door to the TARDIS, crawled out and kissed the ground. Somehow she'd manage to survive without regenerating with only a few cuts and bruises. The TARDIS on the other hand had severe damage to the control room and its perception filter was acting up. It also didn't help that the TARDIS was lying on its side. The TARDIS would need time to rebuild itself and it's not like Ash had anywhere to go anyway. She got up closed the doors carefully and looked around. They had landed in a grassy field a short distance from a dirt road that led to a brightly lit town down the hill. The light from the town blocked out most of the stars but Ash could still see the tails of the last meteors in the shower as they disappeared back into space. A sharp pain suddenly shot down her right arm. Now that the adrenaline had died down Ash noticed the large, bleeding cut on her shoulder. She tore off the sleeve of her dress and wrapped it around the cut to stop the bleeding. She held her breath as the blood began soaking through the sleeve, turning it an even darker shade of red before finally slowing down and stopping. A clanking, gear-grinding noise roared out of the TARDIS as the chameleon circuit began to morph the outside into the shape of a large red box. The box had a curved roof and its sides and door were covered with glass windows painted over white. On the front just above the door was a sign that read 'TELEPHONE'.

"Really?", shouted Ash, "How in the world does a bright red phone box blend into the middle of a field?" The TARDIS responded by locking the doors and powering down.

"Hmmph, fine look however you want. I'm just saying that a big red box in the middle of a desolate field looks a little bit odd, especially with the perception filter all-" Vrrrrm. "wonky" An engine roared nearby coming down the dirt road. Ash ducked behind the TARDIS just as headlights peaked over the edge of the hill. The machine roared to a halt and Ash heard two doors open and slam shut.

"Over here! Over here!" An enthusiastic young voice carried across the field as its owner ran up closer to the TARDIS. "Father look! I told you it wasn't a meteor I saw fall."

An exhausted voice, the father, replied, "Zedric, this didn't fall from the sky"

"But Dad… look at the marks in the ground where it hit."

"They were probably just made by a Digger mouse or something. This box if it had fallen from the sky would be covered in burn marks it being made out of wood and all." The father knocked on the door of the TARDIS. "or whatever this is"

Ash took a chance and glanced around the side of the TARDIS. Ash could tell that they were both human beings from the look of it. They spent a lot of time learning about the humans back on Gallifrey. Her teacher, Mr. Ike, was fascinated by the fact that a simple lower ranking species from only a class five planet would be able to create a multi galactic empire. They would often spend whole weeks talking about the humans even when there was another lesson that they had to move on to. Ash, personally, doubted the greatness of the great human empire. After all what species could get that far on only one heart and with such a vulnerable body. The boy, Zedric, looked to be only a year older than herself and the father appeared to be in his early forties. The father ruffled Zedric's hair as he walked sluggishly back to the ATV. Zedric turned back to the TARDIS and let his heart sink as he began to believe what his father said, that they had not found what had crashed. That Zedric wasn't really seeing a crashed space object just an old phone box. Zedric kicked a rock at the red box only to have it glance off the side straight into the face of the girl hiding behind it.

"OW!" Ash held her nose, which now felt broken and ducked back behind the TARDIS. The boy ran behind the TARDIS and stared in shock at Ash as she used a small amount of regeneration energy to quickly fix her broken nose. It wasn't smart to use regeneration energy so improvidently on something that would heal easily but she didn't have time to deal with a broken nose on top of everything else she'd been through. Just then Ash felt that she had an audience and looked up at Zedric who stood there mouth agape.

"What the hell's going on back…" Zedric's father came around the corner of the TARDIS where he saw Ash lying on the ground, her dress dotted with blood from her now-fixed nose. Ash crawled backward but not before the father grabbed her arm and looked her in the eyes with a worried look. "Are you alright, dear? Where are your parents?"

Ash looked in his eyes but saw no deception only pity for the girl in front of him. Her parents had always told her to not talk to strangers, but they weren't here now and wasn't like she hadn't already broken the one rule about not wasting regeneration energy on a small injury. "I'm fine", she shakingly replied, "I hurt my arm but I think that's the worst."

"What about your parents?"

Ash looked up at the star filled sky and sighed, "they're gone". Zedric's father nodded his head and pulled her in for a hug which she resisted at first but let him hold her. Lots of children had loss parents in the Human vs Granelak war.

"Don't worry, It's been over three years now the war can't be much longer" Zedric's father sat back up and shared a smile with his son happy to believe that their side would win soon. Ash was sick of war she may have had only eight years of experience with life and war but still all this constant fighting had to get old at some point.

Ash groaned and mumbled, "two more stinking years of this!"

"What was that?"

"Nothing" Ash held out her hand and introduced herself, "My name's Ash."

"George, nice to meet you Ash. This is my son, Zedric. Zedric say Hi."

Zedric looked to his father like he was crazy and didn't notice anything strange about this girl. Which he didn't seeing has how he hadn't seen her fix her own nose with a glowing energy. "Uh… Hi?"

"Ash, would you like to come back to our apartment for the night, at least until we can you're your relatives or an orphanage or a foster family? My wife might have some clothes you can borrow for the night." George held his hands out to help pick her off the ground. Ash looked from the TARDIS to the town to the kind man kneeling down in front of her. One night couldn't hurt at least until the TARDIS was repaired.

"Thank-you, George", she replied and she grabbed his hands and stood up. As they walked back to the ATV-like vehicle Ash walked slightly behind George and Zedric trailed on behind them. Suddenly remembering what Zedric had seen Ash turned around, looked him straight in the eyes and held a finger to her lips to shush him. It wouldn't due now that George thinks she's human to have his son go tell him that he saw the strange girl they met in the woods, glowing. With the Human vs Granelak war going on any one not completely human was seen as suspicious and a potential enemy.

Ash laid in bed in an oversized pink nightie, unable to sleep, the ticking of the golden fob watch that still hung around her neck kept her up tick, tick, ticking away the hours as they pass. She couldn't bear putting it away though to block the ticking. The ticking watch, the TARDIS, and her torn, blood dotted dress, which by the disgusted look on Geraldene's (George's wife) face when she saw it probably will have "disappeared" by morning, was all that she had left from Gallifrey. Ash turned the watch over in her hands and used her finger to trace her name, her birth name, on the other side. A soft glow radiated outwards from within the watch. Ash had secretly, carefully hid the key inside the watch on the drive to George's home; well really it was more like a ranch. They had acres of land on the edge of town with earth horses and space cattle, a beautiful creature with rich purplish-bluish milk and a green mossy coat. Ash looked out her window across the space cows' field now. There was a small hill at the end of the field and shortly beyond that was the field where the TARDIS had landed.

She closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of the night and the house. It was almost midnight now and everyone would be asleep, Ash guessed. George was definitely asleep; his thunderous snores had started almost an hour ago and showed no signs of quieting. Ash popped open the lid to the watch and carefully slid out the glowing key. She then stood up slipped on a pair of slippers and snuck out of her room. Tiptoeing down the hallway Ash entered the dining room and then the living room where she froze in her tracks. There on the bed lay Zedric, fast asleep, on the couch. He rolled over, ruffling his already messy black hair. Ash began slowly moving to the front door which was only a meter and a half away. A floorboard creaked beneath her feet causing Zedric to slightly stir but with much relief to Ash he didn't wake. She hurried out the door, not even paying attention to how loud it closed.

The TARDIS gave a welcoming flash of light as Ash entered the field and ran up to the TARDIS. It was still stuck in the shape of a red telephone box but she didn't seem to mind it as much now at least the TARDIS wasn't wrecked anymore. Besides the red was a nice color almost like the color of Gallifreyan grass. She gave the TARDIS a hello hug and ran inside. It was beautiful inside. The control console had been lowered to her height to allow for easier access when traveling. The base around the controls and the triangular columns near the walls were made of a dark chrome-like material with veins of a red metal running through it. The walls were flat, gold colored, and covered in the various Gallifreyan phrases written in the language. The glass floor showed an intricate underside to the control console filled with wires and parts Ash hadn't even heard about yet. She'd have to grab the TARDIS manual sometime and figure out how they all worked. The TARDIS would teach her a few things but it'd be more than useful to know how to repair the TARDIS herself.

_Knock! Knock! Knock!_ Someone was knocking on the door to the TARDIS. Ash checked the controls and verified the current time on this sector of Tutukanen, 1:20 am. 'Who would be out here at this time of night?' thought Ash as she moved to the door controls and pulled the lever to open the doors. Zedric froze in place hand in half knock as the TARDIS doors swung open revealing the bigger on the inside interior. He ran around the outside of the TARDIS quickly trying to figure out how this box could be real. When he returned back to the doorway he ran inside and stared up at the tall vaulted ceiling.

"I-i-i-it's bigger on the… how? What? But how can this be possible!" He stared around himself in disbelief at the TARDIS' very existence.

"It just is. Bigger on the inside that is, common technology back on Gallifrey." Ash closed the doors and sat in a nearby beanbag chair, one of the new additions to the control room. Ash guessed due to the way they'd been secured to the floor to provide a safe spot to fall back on when the TARDIS dematerialized as it can be a bit of a rough process. "It's called a TARDIS, Time And Relative Dimensions In Space."

" A TARDIS" Zedric repeated after she had finished her sentence " so, it's like a spaceship right? Can you fly it? Can we go to the moons? "

"Just the moons? Come on Zedric have an imagination." Ash popped up and began fiddling with the controls on the console. She figured if she threw him a big enough bone he'd be willing to keep quiet about the whole regeneration energy thing.

"What are you?" Zedric's tone had suddenly turn serious and he stood locked in place, staring at her. "Glowing energy, bigger on the inside; I can't do that, no one can. Not human, not the Granelaks, not anybody I've met on Tutukanen."

"Well maybe I'm not Tutukanen, besides hasn't the thought ever occurred to you that you're not Tutukanen either. The Granelaks are, you humans just moved here." Ash flipped a switch on the console and then moved over to the side to set the time, date, and coordinates of their journey. "Haven't you ever wondered where you lot came from?"

"I guess? But, my question, you've not answered him yet."

Ash smiled at him and pulled a lever on the console. The TARDIS began to shake and groan as it dematerialize. Zedric grabbed onto a railing and held on tight even after the shaking died down. The TARDIS began its whooping noise and materialized, ending the shaking. Ash ran past Zedric and pulled open the doors. A few hundred miles below was the Earth, late 14th century. "Zedric," Ash began as Zedric came up beside and stared down in awe at the planet below, "I'm a timelord and this is Earth, the original planet for all of humankind."

"Wow, just wow!" Zedric shook his head in amazement. Ash suddenly remembered a lesson they'd had about a certain playwright from this time period. William Shakespeare, the man whose works would be still famous centuries after his death.

"Come on" Ash grabbed his hand and then was back at the controls, dematerializing the TARDIS within seconds.

"Where are we going?" Zedric hung onto the TARDIS as it shook and dematerialized.

"To the Earth, we're going to see a play."


	3. Chapter 3: Graduations and Metal Things

Chapter 3 Graduations and Metal Things

**A/N: So, first off I like to start with an apology to the readers for not updating more often and not warning you all sooner of this delay. My schedules just crammed this year, being senior year and all, with class, senior project, and college stuff. I'll try my best to get at least a chapter a month and looking at my last two upload dates they'll probably be done between the 20****th**** and the 30****th**** of the month. Thank you all for reading my story and I would appreciate any reviews. This being my first story I know that there will be some if not many mistakes. Anyway, again, thanks for reading my story and please review. **

**Disclaimer: As always I own nothing of Doctor Who.**

:: O :: O : 8 years later : O :: O ::

The TARDIS shook and rattled as she materialized back on Tutukanen. Ash wiped some sweat from her forehead and looked back at the monitor. _Finally the right time period, _Ash thought. She spun the monitor around towards Zedric who was huddled over trying desperately to pick up all his academy study materials off the floor where they'd fallen during the flight.

"See Zeddy, o'brother. Gocember 36, 2397, Right where we left from." Ash looked at the screen again, to double check. "Told you I'd get you back to the right time period."

"Yeah, you said that last time." Zedric groaned as he looked at the first half of his notes now completely destroyed from the heat. "And then the sun began expanding." The duo had just come back from their most recent trip to a diamond planet. This was just the latest in their many adventures over the years. Following that initial trip to a true Shakespearen play and Ash's adoption by Zedric's family the following morning on Tutukanen Ash began taking trips across the universe to any old random planet and, of course, Zedric had to tag along. Ash was grateful that before leaving Gallifrey she had learn how to arrive a few minutes after leaving someplace… well most of the time… okay, only some of the time. They'd only been caught twice though, once when they came back a month later and once when they came back only a couple weeks later, so Ash figured that's what counted. So long as George and Geraldene didn't have to fill out a third missing children report they'd all be fine.

Ash picked up Zedric's Advanced Calculus text book off the ground; well, the spine and the back cover.

"My life is ruined." Zedric shook his head as he put the last of what salvageable notes and textbooks he had back in the bag.

"Oh, please you don't need those notes anyway. That test is easy." Ash waved her hand through air as she strolled out the TARDIS's doors and into the janitors' closet at the Academy. She turned around and saw Zedric shortly behind her giving her a death glare."What?"

"Well maybe, just maybe that's because you're a freaking Time Lord." Zedric clenched his teeth together and threw his bag over his shoulder.

"Time _Lady_" Ash pointed out before twirling around and walking out the door.

"Whatever", Zedric mumbled before following her out into the busy hallway. Students everywhere were either quizzing each other or studying their books in hopes of cramming every bit of information they could in their short term memories before final tests later. As Ash and Zedric made their way down the hallway to Zedric's assigned testing room paper airplanes flew above their heads. Ash looked over at Zedric and his face was tense and with each passing second he seemed to get more and more anxious. Ash rolled her eyes and grabbed him by the collar, dragging him over to an empty spot near the water fountain.

"Calm down you'll do fine. Why? Because you've been studying for two days straight, you are so smart… well, relatively to your species. Seriously how could you forget…"

"Is this supposed to be a pep talk?" Zedric interrupted.

"Right. Anyway, Zedric you're smart, enough," Zedric rolled his eyes, "to pass this test and high school with flying colors. Now stop worrying, you always freeze up and forget everything when you worry."

"Ash do you not understand this is the most important test of the school year, if I don't get a good grade on this I won't graduate." Zedric flung his hands up and gave an exasperated sigh.

Ash shrugged her shoulders, "I guess you're right then. You can't do this. Why was I to every believe a stupid, moronic, human like yourself who can't even use more than 10% of your brain at any one time could every pass a silly little Advanced Calculus final. I bet you won't even get half those questions right." Ash smirked.

"Oh yeah, you just watch I'll not only get half of them right I'll get all of them right!" With that Zedric stormed off towards his classroom and Ash smiled and began walking back toward the TARDIS to take her home. _Reverse Psychology_ she thought _works every time_. She had already graduated from school so her afternoon was free until she decided to go to school, she had been accepted at the most prestigious university in the Andromeda galaxy, 50,000 years in the future from now. Undecided of course, there are just so many interesting majors to choose from. Ash walked through the TARDIS's doors and pulled at the levers on the TARDIS. With a groan and some wheezing the TARDIS began to dematerialize.

:: O :: O :: O :: O :: O ::

"See Zedric, I told you, that you would pass" Ash smiled and handed him a candied fruit. "Congrats". Zedric had just jumped off the stage after receiving his diploma at the Announcement Day graduates ceremony. Today was Announcement day when all students across Tutukanen head to their respective town squares to find out if they passed their grade or in Zedric's and many students' cases, graduate school. On that same day near sunset all graduates are required to attend the graduates' ceremony where they receive awards and recognition for their accomplishment.

"Thank-you" Zedric took the fruit and they began walking over to the benches by the playground. They finally found an empty seat between two couples. Ash finished her fruit and took the opportunity to see who they were sitting next to. On their left was a Zocci couple who were so entranced in talking baby talk to a baby carriage to notice anyone else around. On their right was an even odder couple, not in their origin, but of their appearance. The woman had red hair down past her shoulders and had on a short jean skirt with a sweater and a jacket . The man had wheat colored hair, a polo shirt with a vest overtop and jeans . They were pointing out the Grenelaks and the Aplans and all the non-human-like species like they hadn't seen them before. _Humans. _Ash thought. _Approximately 20-30 years old. Male and female. Accent? English. United Kingdom England English. Earth United Kingdom English. Time frame based on vocabulary? Late 20__th__ – early 21__st__ century according to the Earthen calendar. Alright two options: A.) they're historians extremely obsessed with the 21__st__ century Earth culture, specifically, England B.) Time travelers, where would they get the technology though. _ Ash looked around the park for a reference check on the current fashions, no vests, good.

"Sooo…." She began, "that's an odd piece of clothing you have there."

"Me?" The man pointed to his chest and appeared surprised that she was speaking to him.

"Yes, Vestie, You"

The man looked about to see what was so odd about his clothing that it needed pointing out when he saw that everyone was wearing either a jumpsuit like outfit or a long dress. "Well it's a little odd I suppose" he stammered. His partner smiled and leaned over kissing his cheek.

"Well I think it's cool." They looked lovingly into each other's eyes.

"Bleh, romance." Ash said as she faced forward to the playground again, where now a strange man appeared to be running towards them. Ash watched the man as he came blundering over. Something was off about him but she couldn't quite place it. He didn't feel human and yet he looked like one from his floppy brown hair to his bowtie to his shoes. The man finally came to a halt in front of Vestie and his girlfriend.

"You two, stop kissing. It's always the kissing! Just wait until you see what I've found, it's a bowtie shop, a shop just for bowties! Come on!" As he was talking the man waved his hands about vaguely indicating the direction in which Mr. Cockle's Bowtie Emporium was located.

"Doctor," whined the girl, "look there's so many interesting sights and activities." Ash's ears perked at the name Doctor. The Doctor, the way the girl had said it, it sounded like a name not a title and if it was a name … but could it be? Ash had heard stories back on Gallifrey about a Time Lord, called the Doctor: he'd been exiled, he'd been the president, and during the years of the Time War he'd been called a warrior. She had always believed that the stories were just that though, stories, how could one man rise so high and fall so low, how could one man be so loyal and traitorous to his own people all in one life. Perhaps maybe he was just another alien species, not a time lord, whose parents; in hopes of their son becoming a medical professional had named him Doctor.

The Doctor stuck out his lip. "But, Amy, come on what could be cooler than a whole store just for bow ties. Rory, tell her bowties are cool."

"Sorry, Doctor. I have to side with Amy on this one." Vestie, Rory, shrugged and put an arm around Amy pulling her close.

"We'll go." Ash raised her hand and with the other one grabbed Zedric pulling him up off the seat. Zedric choked briefly on his snack and stared wide eyed at Ash as she volunteered both of them to walk off with this strange man.

"Great! See Amy someone appreciates fine bow ties. Good to meet you…?"

"Ash and this is my older brother Zedric."

"Wonderful, always nice to meet to people; especially when it's in the right order. At any rate off to see the bow ties!" The man began to stride ahead with Ash and Zedric shortly behind. Zedric turned towards Ash and punched her in the arm. Ash bit her lip to keep from yelping and looked over at him.

"What was that for?" She asked in a harsh whisper.

"For dragging me into this! Literally. Why do you want to go look at this store anyway? I've heard you mention a dozen times how much you hate bowties."

"Can't I change my mind?" Zedric gave her a _Really?_ look and Ash gave in. " Fine something's up with that man."

"Like what?" interrupted Zedric.

"I don't know. He's strange and that name, I've heard stories of a man with that name before and if this is him we're either in for a lot of trouble or a lot of good, but most likely the former." They were getting close now and the Doctor was already inside examining all the bow ties and holding some up to a mirror to see how'd they look. Ash walked in and headed over to a shelf full of self-cleaning bowties. The Doctor came up behind her and grabbed a red one with tiny blue x's off the top rack.

"What do you think?" he asked holding the bowtie up to his neck. "Cool, right?"

"Meh."

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! First one scream than another filled the small shop as patrons over by the counter began running out of the store in fear. Zedric was near the register with broom in hand swatting at something moving along the ground. The Doctor and Ash raced around the counter where they saw a small metal creature scurrying across the ground. The creature was biting at Zedric and the clerk with big animal like teeth. The Doctor pulled out a sonic and began sonicing the creature. Ash grabbed a bucket from the corner, threw it over top of the creature, and sat on it just as the creature's wiring fried from the sonic.

"What was that?!" Zedric stared bug eyed at the Doctor and Ash hoping one of them had the answer.

"A Cybermat" The Doctor answered putting the screwdriver back in his coat pocket. "But that isn't what we need to worry about now."

"What is?" asked Zedric.

_Cybermat_ thought Ash _but that sounds like… _"Cyber men"


End file.
